The Will and the Whim
by crisis what crisis
Summary: WIN A DATE WITH A TRIWIZARD CHAMPION, read the Witch Weekly article. And on a whim, studious and quiet Sloane van Houten enters the silly contest only to actually win a date with Harry Potter, and eventually learns that maybe the Boy Who Lived isn't such a cardboard cutout after all. Harry/OC.
1. Chapter One

I do not own Harry Potter. JKR wrote it, I'm just writing fanfiction.

For once, I'm not sure where I got the idea from. I guess from those silly 'win a date with/spend a day with/take over the world with...' contests (that no one ever seems to win by the way) and Harry/OC stories.

* * *

**Chapter One**

"Sloane! Did you see? Look, look!"

With a girlish grin stretching her ears, Kyra Bennett slammed the newest edition of _Witch Weekly_ onto her friend's desk, the perky Hufflepuff hovered over her friend until Sloane finally turned around, her arm resting on the back of her chair as she glanced at Kyra.

"What was _that_ for?" The Ravenclaw girl spoke with exasperation in her voice, adjusting her glasses back onto the bridge of her nose as she raised both of her brows, waiting for Kyra to explain herself in the next few seconds before class started. Kyra placed her hands on her hips as she directed her friend's attention to the _Witch Weekly_ paper on her desk.

"Turn to page 3!" she nearly squealed with excitement. Deciding to humor Kyra, Sloane picked up the newspaper and turned to the exact page, a floating yellow star with black text levitating around the pages. Enchanted to move around for a few seconds, Sloane waited for the charm to wear off as she pursed her lips to get a better look at what the star read.

**WIN A DATE WITH A TRIWIZARD CHAMPION**

_Ever dreamed of sitting down with celebrated Seeker Viktor Krum?_

_Or enjoying a delicate conversation with beautiful Fleur Delacour?_

_Strolling in Hogsmeade alongside golden boy Cedric Diggory?_

_Or get a chance to know The Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter?_

_Well, ladies (and gentlemen too), here is your chance! A special contest for all students currently attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and Durmstrang Institute. All eligible contestants must be in their fourth to seventh year of education and between fourteen to eighteen years of age. Please provide your own parchment to answer the following personality questions and tear off the bottom piece of this article for proof of entry. Please address all envelopes with '_**_Witch Weekly's Win a Date With a Triwizard Champion__ Contest'_** _and send entries by owl no later than March 25th, 1995. All dates will take place before the final Task. __The four winners will be notified within ten to fifteen days after the contest deadline. More rules and information to follow._

_*For male applicants, all entries will go to Fleur Delacour._

_*Female applicants can choose on a scale of one to three on which male Champion they'd like to meet. Ratings will be taken into consideration but not the ultimate decision._

"I don't know what to say, Kyra," Sloane blinked a few times, shrugging her shoulders as she rested her cheek on the side of her palm. "Other than this sounds incredibly stupid."

Kyra's toothy smile dramatically dropped, the dark skinned girl pouting as she pulled out another Witch Weekly from her messenger bag and sat down at the desk right next to Sloane. "Well, you think everything's dumb, Sloane. I'm going to enter right now! Oh, I'd love to meet any of those boys! An entire day with Krum would certainly be something to write to Mum about," Kyra giggled as she whipped out her quill and a sheet of parchment, wanting to write the first of her answers as a way to drown out Professor Binns' monotonous droning.

Sloane looked at her copy of Witch Weekly, a slightly turned off expression on her face. It was a bunch of silly garbage, focusing more on celebrity news, superficial lists and Rita Skeeter's interviews than any information that pertained to all of witchkind. It was no better than the harlequin romance novels her stepmother read. It was silly how this contest was reducing four brave magical students into some sort of desirable object, like_ they_ were the prize.

Oh, time to leave her soapbox. Sloane's ears perked up as she heard the ghostly professor phase through the wall and appeared in front of the class, some students already beginning to take a nap. She glanced around the room and saw plenty of girls fill out the stupid application for the contest; she knew this because people were actually smiling in Binns' class other than when the lecture was over. Sloane was quite sure she was the only one who genuinely found the subject fascinating; in her primary school she liked learning about history and wizarding history was just as exciting if not more.

"You're such a wet blanket," Kyra playfully whispered to Sloane as she continued to answer the questionnaire, focused on some contest rather than her schoolwork. Sloane rolled her eyes and pushed away the _Witch Weekly_ paper as she dipped her quill in the inkwell and began to take notes about the particularly brutal Goblin Rebellions during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

* * *

After eating some snacks in the courtyard with Kyra after Potions class ended, Sloane retired to the Ravenclaw common room. She had correctly answered 'the sun' to the riddle 'What goes round the house and in the house but never touches the house?', which was fairly easy even by Ravenclaw standards. Finding a small elegant chair and desk near a beautiful silk tapestry, Sloane set her books down as a copy of _Witch Weekly_ fluttered out, much to her chagrin. A couple of Ravenclaws older than her passed by and saw this, snickering to themselves as she suddenly felt the urge to blame Kyra for this.

Sloane van Houten did not have many friends. She was Muggleborn and a Ravenclaw which was uncommon but not unheard of. There were maybe ten to twelve other Muggleborns in her House but she did not personally know them as well as she would have liked. In fact, most of her friends were outside Ravenclaw. Her closest friend, Kyra Bennett, was a Hufflepuff and friends with mainly Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors. Kyra was fairly popular and whenever Sloane accompanied her to the Hufflepuff common room, she was always greeted nicely by Kyra's other friends.

Not that she didn't like Ravenclaw. Because she did. Many of her peers valued education and wit over other attributes and there was very little partying in the dorms at night. However, Ravenclaw House wasn't exactly perfect by any means. Granted, nowhere near the bad reputation Slytherin was labeled but as she experienced it, Ravenclaw produced some seriously backstabbing students obsessed with their academic success.

Sloane looked at the _Witch Weekly_ paper and flipped through the pages once more, landing back onto the page with the floating star. In each section of the two page spread was a small bio of the four Triwizard Champions, like their astrological sign, blood type and favorite things. It was all so dumb, absolutely dumb!

"I couldn't imagine Sloanie entering the contest," her peer Michael Corner came up from behind her, curious to see what Sloane was doing. She wasn't terribly thrilled with Michael standing over her desk right now. He was tall, dark and handsome and many girls fancied him because he was smart and clever, but Sloane never really liked him because of his attitude. "Cho wouldn't like it if you went on a date with Diggory."

"That's because I'm not," Sloane corrected him. "Don't you have another girl to bother?"

Michael smugly grinned. "Nope, you're my favorite to bug, Sloanie."

_I was afraid of that_, Sloane thought as she grabbed her belongings off the desk and began to make her way towards the dorms, not wanting to stay in the common room anymore. As she ascended the stairway to the girl's dormitories, she bumped into Cho Chang herself, the Asian girl apologizing quickly as she and her friend Marietta continued to chat down the stairs. Cho Chang was arguably the most popular Ravenclaw girl, with her beauty, amazing Quidditch skills, friendly demeanor and superb intellect. However, sometimes Cho was _too_ sickly nice.

_What am I thinking? Of course she's too nice, it's her nature,_ Sloane snapped out of her mind bubbles as she finally entered her dorm room, none of her dorm mates in yet as she collapsed onto her bed, still in uniform and everything. She rested her eyes for a minute or two as she propped her head up on a pillow and eyed the Witch Weekly paper sticking out of her pile of books.

_You're such a wet blanket_, Kyra said to her and sadly, her friend was right. Sloane didn't participate in any activities, no extracurricular and definitely no sports. When she went home for holidays, she read her books or watched movies. Her father and stepmother did not bother her too often and her step-brother and step-sister already graduated from Muggle university, Sloane was on her own. Alone, really.

Feeling stupid, regretful and a surge of determination, Sloane ripped a piece of parchment and grabbed one of her textbooks to write on. Sloane grabbed the newspaper and opened it to page 3, where the list of personality questions awaited her. _I'll just do this as a one time experiment_, she coaxed herself as she brushed back stray strands of copper colored hair behind her ears and focused on answering the questions. _I'll just pretend it's an exam. Short, quick, boring answers._

**_Fill out the following personality questions_**

_What is your favorite color? _**Green**

_Astrological sign? _**Libra**

_Beach or forest? _**Forest**

_If you were any animal, what would you be? _**Turtle**

_Pastry or biscuit? _**Pastry**

_See the world or stay cozy at home? _**At home**

_What are your hobbies?_

Sloane hesitated, averting her eyes to the floor of the dorm as she struggled on this one. Again, she didn't have many hobbies aside from reading and watching VHS tapes.

_What are your hobbies?_ **Reading, studying**

**_On a scale from 1 to 3, put a number by the name of each male Champion to indicate your first, second or third choice for a date._**

_Viktor Krum_

_Cedric Diggory_

_Harry Potter_

Well, count out the Bulgarian Quidditch Seeker. Sloane had little to no interest in sports altogether, which made it hard considering all three guys were Quidditch players. Clutching her head with her free hand, the little voice in her mind told her this was stupid but as long as she treated it like she wasn't going to win anyway, then it would be alright. And so Sloane wrote a '3' next to Viktor Krum's name. That was the easy one. Now it was down between Hufflepuff Cedric Diggory and Gryffindor Harry Potter.

She had never directly met either of them although Kyra had talked to Cedric a couple of times here and there. He was amicable, hardworking and an all around good person. Harry Potter on the other hand, she hardly knew anything other than he was the Boy Who Lived but who wasn't aware of that? He seemed nice but hard to approach. In fact, Sloane could not remember if she had ever seen him by himself other than competing in the first two tasks.

Figuring what the heck, she placed a '2' by Cedric's name and a '1' by Harry's. Knowing the big celebrity was really the huge catch in this contest also lowered her chances of winning. Even though he was unpopular right now with most of the Hufflepuffs, she couldn't help but feel a little spiteful in picking Harry while her friend Kyra more than likely chose Cedric.

Sloane felt almost invisible, like a fish in a crowded fish pond of fangirls as she sealed up her envelope and placed it in her bag for tomorrow so she could send it off. Sloane van Houten wasn't going to win because she was so unspectacular and boring that the judges would simply toss her entry out. With a faint half-smile on her face, Sloane decided to focus on her studies and opened her Ancient Runes textbook to review and refresh her knowledge of magical runes.

* * *

Let me know whether you like this idea or not :) Hadn't really seen it done before so I figured I'd give it a shot.


	2. Chapter Two

Harry Potter was written by JKR. Not me.

Thanks for the reviews and alerts. I'm excited to start this story, the ideas are swimming in my head :) In this chapter, Harry sulks and Sloane sends off her entry letter.

* * *

**Chapter Two**

"Hey Hermione, your boyfriend's going on a date with another girl," Ron sourly teased his best girl friend, much her annoyance. Hermione turned her head to face the Weasley boy, rolling her eyes as she sat on the couch in the Gryffindor common room with a stack of books and a quill in her hand.

"We're not _dating_ Ron," she spoke, although Ron could tell she did have a small hurt tone. Ever since the Yule Ball, people, especially young men, were even more aware of Hermione Granger not only as the smartest witch in class but because she actually could look beautiful. Of course, Hermione was beautiful in her own way but no guy would actually admit that, right? "It's just a silly contest for publicity. I don't like it but there are worse things to be written about."

"Then why don't you enter?" and he rolled up a piece of parchment and tossed it at her head, his jealousy so obvious that the emotion was radiating off him. He still liked Krum as a Seeker but not when he became close to Herm-o-ninny. "Go on a date with your Vicky."

Before Hermione and Ron could squabble, Harry's loud inhale of breath attracted both their attention, remembering Harry was one of the four eligible Champions in the contest. Harry was not exactly happy to learn that some girl from either Hogwarts, Beauxbatons or- he shuddered- _Durmstrang_ was going to win this contest and he'd have to spend an entire day with her. Half the school hated him because he took away Cedric's glory and the other half was obsessed with him. Frankly, he wasn't sure which was worse.

There was a part of him that hoped Cho would enter the contest and that by some stroke of luck, _he_ would be the one she picked, even though the more obvious answer would be Cedric. Harry harbored a massive crush on Cho Chang, an attraction that Hermione and Ron particularly didn't care for or really understand. She was pretty, smart and kind but not quite Harry's type.

Harry would rather steal the dragon's egg all over again than answer superficial questions for the blurb in _Witch Weekly_. The editor and contest head judge, Malis Misslethorpe, asked him a hundred questions like his favorite color, his astrological sign, favorite foods...since learning about Rita Skeeter and her ruthless ways to get the scoop, Harry did not like the taste of fame he was receiving. He was already well-known for being the Boy Who Lived, did he really want to be a desirable boyfriend too?

"My first date and it's set up," Harry sulked, his messy black hair in between the frames of his glasses and green eyes. He was fourteen, a young man and the girl he was rather fond of probably did not return his romantic feelings thanks to Cedric Diggory. It was nigh impossible to hate Cedric and Harry wished he could find at least one flaw in the good-natured Hufflepuff. Instead, the lad offered him advice for the second Task and was embarrassed to learn of the 'POTTER STINKS' badges that were circulating around.

Hermione put a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder, although her gaze was less sympathetic. "Harry, you can't tell me one measly date with a girl is more difficult than a Triwizard Task," She was not over-dramatizing the situation probably because it was rather silly to be this sulky and mopey over a contest. Of course, Hermione was the girl in the group and did not see it as a death sentence like Ron and Harry did.

"I dunno, Hermione," Ron raised his brows as the curve of his mouth dipped downwards. "What if she's really ugly, or smells rotten or tries to snog Harry-,"

Hermione let out a loud 'Ugh!' as she let out an exasperated sigh. "I swear, you two are ridiculous."

"Girls," Ron muttered as Hermione left the common room to focus on her assignments without tending to the melodrama of Harry Potter or the snide teasing of Ron Weasley.

* * *

To not arouse the suspicion of her friend Kyra, Sloane waited a week to mail off her entry form especially since there was a deluge of teenage witches and some wizards the first few days of the contest being announced. During classes and even in the library Sloane would hear whispers and restrained tee-heeing of the hopeful winners talking about who they would like to spend a day with.

Sloane had woken up twenty minutes earlier than her usual wake up time so she could mail her entry to the newspaper. Ascending the stairway to the Owlery, she could smell the stench of bird droppings, owl pellets and other less pleasant smells as she entered the open room. Spotting her barn owl Domingo, she gave him a treat and asked him to send the letter. With a compliant 'hoot', Domingo took flight as she stood there, hoping her little experiment would work and that she would not be picked.

It was funny how practical it was to send mail by owl instead of post man. Sloane had only been immersed in the magical world since she was eleven but she felt like she had been a witch all her life. Needless to say her father and stepmother were shocked to learn that magic did exist and that there was a whole underground, invisible world of witches and wizards in all over the U.K. Sloane was not sure if her own mother knew of her magical abilities, a thought that put a small frown on her face.

Sloane was good at compartmentalizing her emotions but there were a few cracks here and there. Shaking her head, the copper haired Ravenclaw exited the Owlery as she walked by a gaggle of giggling sixth years talking about who they wanted to date. Lowering her head, Sloane picked up the pace as she returned to the Ravenclaw Tower and back to her dorm room in order to continue getting ready for her day of classes.

"You usually never wake up that early," her dorm mate Lisa Turpin commented curiously, the blonde girl tying her hair in a ponytail.

Sloane shrugged. Lisa was an alright person to room with but far too nosy for her own good. "I had some business to take care of," she flatly stated, not wanting to delve into her morning.

Lisa seemed satisfied with the answer as she left the dorm, carrying her books as Sloane was left alone in the room. She shared the suite with Lisa Turpin, Morag MacDougal, Mandy Brocklehurst and Sue Li, four girls that Sloane hadn't quite befriended. Morag was one of the Beaters on the Quidditch team and romantically interested in girls (she cursed when she learned that only males could apply to go on a date with Fleur Delacour, "It's not fair!" Morag complained), Sue Li was one of Cho's friends due to their ethnic background and Mandy and Lisa had been best friends since birth. It was hard to compete with that.

Sloane blinked, realizing what time it was as she grabbed her bag, preparing to leave. It was Friday again and that meant History of Magic in the morning. She wasn't the first one in the classroom today and saw a couple of Slytherin girls in the back row, recognizing them as Pansy Parkinson, Daphne Greengrass and Daisy Beauford. She sat in her usual seat as she filtered out the gossip the girls were discussing. Usually Slytherins did not bother Ravenclaws but Sloane had been teased for her Muggle heritage by Pansy in particular. One curse word that Sloane had been named was 'Mudblood', a wildly offensive term used for a Muggleborn wizard or witch. Sloane wasn't offended by the word as much as she should be, due to her somewhat apathetic attitude.

"I can't believe you'd enter the contest, I am so disappointed in you," Daphne chided Daisy. "What if you end up spending a day with dreaded Potter?"

Pansy snickered viciously, whispering something in Daphne's ear, Sloane becoming annoyed with their incessant talking. Kyra's babbling was tolerable and sometimes even wanted but not from these girls. Luckily Kyra arrived in time to save Sloane, a bright smile on her face and Sloane mentally steeled herself for the information Kyra was about to tell her.

"I sent off my entry last night! Oh Sloane, I'm really excited!" she gushed, sitting in the chair next to Sloane as she noticed the less-than-happy expression on her blue eyed friend's face. Kyra put two and two together, shaking her head. "Oh, um, Sloane?"

"Yes?"

"We have a quiz today, don't we?"

Sloane raised a brow at her, tilting her head as the usually serious girl gave her a light smirk. "Yes."

Kyra hit her forehead on the desk. "Can I...look over your notes for a few seconds? Please?"

Her friend stuck out her lower lip, playfully pouting but also serious about borrowing the notes. Just as Sloane was digging them out of her bag, Binns' intangible body entered through the wall and hovered in front of the podium. Sloane shrugged as if there was nothing she could possibly do for her now, a light groan escaping Kyra's lips as the ghostly professor charmed each sheet of parchment to glide towards the students and begin the the quiz taking.

Class ended shortly after the last person turned in their quiz, probably wanting to take up as much class time as possible. Binns dismissed everyone as Kyra was uncharacteristically depressed as she left the classroom with Sloane.

"I know I just bombed that quiz," Kyra woefully said, gently nudging Sloane's shoulder with her head in a pitiful stance. Sloane jerked her shoulder back, not feeling much sympathy. Kyra was a smart girl but Sloane never cared for how she preferred fun over studying.

"I've offered you to be my study partner," Sloane reminded her. _More like tutor_, she corrected but decided not to say that in front of Kyra.

The brown eyed girl sighed. "Only if you promise to attend one of the parties in my common room this weekend."

Sloane debated whether it was a fair trade, a party for a study session. While Kyra's popularity did help Sloane get noticed by other people, she was not quite a social butterfly. And despite her cynical personality, a part of her wanted Kyra to do well in school and pass Binns' class so she would not have to repeat it. Being a Ravenclaw meant wanting _everyone_ to achieve some level of intellectual pursuit, even if it just meant passing the OWLS.

"You have a bargain," she accepted the terms as Kyra squealed and hugged her best friend around the neck before letting go and saying bye to her as she ran off to her elective class.

* * *

Hopefully everyone's in character, that's what I aim to achieve. Harry was moodier in the fifth book but ah well, being super popular and (in)famous blows sometimes. Also, Sloane really needs to get out more :P


	3. Chapter Three

JKR wrote Harry Potter. I didn't.

Here we go, another chapter starring our lovely Sloane! To answer a reviewer's question, Sloane _was_ originally going to be in Slytherin but I realized she's better off in Ravenclaw. Thanks for all the alerts and reviews :D

* * *

**Chapter Three**

It was Tuesday evening and Sloane had set up her small study session at her favorite round table in the Hogwarts library, her home away from home away from her actual home. Sloane had developed a mutual acquaintanceship with the librarian Ms. Pince. The witch librarian often reserved books for her that would take weeks to get a hold of and much preferred Sloane's presence over some of the rowdy Hogwarts students. Honestly, once you got past her strict demeanor she was quite understanding and always offered her educated opinion on a book topic or subject. Sloane knew Ms. Pince was teased for her hooked nose and constant 'shh!'ing but really, what librarian would allow loud noises in the sanctuary of the learned?

_Kyra was supposed to be here five minutes ago_, she mentally sighed, placing her History of Magic textbook on the wooden table and grabbing some extra sheets of parchment. Sloane was determined to help her friend pass Binns' course, lest she fail and have to repeat the subject or worse, repeat the entire year. Kyra was bright and intelligent but put fun and games at the top of her priority list. Fun and games were more than likely at the bottom of Sloane's list of things.

"Sorry!" Her late Hufflepuff friend entered the library, walking around bookshelves until she finally found her friend, sitting down in the chair across from Sloane as she set down her messenger bag. "I was chatting with Hannah and Susan, it's been a while since I've-,"

"Shhh!" Pince hushed Kyra from around the corner, giving Sloane the eye as the Ravenclaw girl slightly slouched her shoulders, not wanting the librarian to think all of Sloane's friends were this loud.

Kyra awkwardly grinned as she dug through her bag, only to realize she left her own textbook in her dormitory. Sloane shook her head, pushing the book in the middle of the table so the two of them could share. She figured something like this would happen.

"I just _can't_ remember the dates of anything. The numbers are what messes me up," Kyra explained her dilemma, genuine concern on the dark skinned girl's face. "Oh Sloane, I'm scared I won't make it out of his class alive and I'll be a ghost like him!"

As much as Sloane enjoyed having Kyra as a friend, she could really be melodramatic sometimes. Sloane rested her chin on her hand, listening to her friend tell her what she didn't understand about certain historical events. After Kyra finished, Sloane first turned the page to the chapter of the book titled: _Goblins and Wizards: A Bloody Affair_. Sloane would recite the following passage and then have Kyra repeat back, in her own words, what she learned. Then she would memorize the dates. It kept going back and forth for a good forty-five minutes. Sloane could see her friend becoming slightly bored because she yawned every three minutes or so, but she did not complain due to upholding her end of the bargain.

"The Goblin Rebellion of 1612 took place in...ah, Hogsmeade! It's like we're right next to history!" Kyra gleefully said, failing to realize that Hogwarts was in the vicinity of most of the magical events in the history of wizarding. Nonetheless, the usually less-than-impressed Sloane was quite happy that Kyra was remembering the dates of all the goblin rebellions and the birth and death dates of seventeenth century wizards and witches.

Sloane closed her eyelids in pleasure, nodding her head as she closed her textbook and put it back in her bag. "Once you actually sit down and focus, it's hardly that bad. In fact, it's calming to just concentrate on something."

Kyra cocked a brow at her friend, finding it silly that Sloane actually liked to be alone and studying in the library. Not wanting to annoy Ms. Pince, Kyra grabbed Sloane by the hand as the two girls left the library, arriving back onto the third floor of the castle. The Hufflepuff was more than relieved to finally speak in her usual volume of voice.

"Okay, so now you have to come to the common rooms for the party! You promised!" Kyra reminded her playfully, waggling her index finger at her as she winked. "Hannah and Susan are coming too, and oh I wish Cedric could come but he's so busy and mega popular..." her friend trailed on and on about tonight, talking about who was invited and who wasn't. Sloane decided not to mention that a common room was _common_ for a reason and it was rather hard to exclude people from walking in.

Kyra and Sloane walked down the hallway, conversing about the party and exams and all things pertinent to Hogwarts students. Sloane took off her glasses, rubbing the lenses with a piece of cloth as she cleaned them. Kyra always found it funny how Sloane had Muggle prescription glasses rather than enchanted ones. It was a particular thing about Sloane, for there were some things she preferred were non-magical.

"Sloane! Oh my Merlin, I forgot to show you this," and Kyra whipped out a copy of _Witch Weekly_, causing the pit inside Sloane's stomach to grow. She handed it to her, telling her to open to the center pages. "I knew something was up when she danced with Krum at the Yule Ball."

Resisting her urge to toss it into the rubbish bin, Sloane opened it to the middle of the newspaper, seeing a small moving photograph of Harry Potter above a small published article by you name it, Rita Skeeter. Sloane knew this was going to be a train wreck as she skimmed the article, apparently about Hermione Granger's two timing with Harry Potter and Viktor Krum. The only thing that could have made this article any seedier is if Skeeter also accused Granger of dating Cedric Diggory.

"I can't believe you read this garbage Kyra," she rolled her eyes as she handed the newspaper back to her friend. "It's so obviously blown out of proportion."

Kyra shrugged, using the excuse of "Well, she is the only reason you're not number one in our class," as her cause to read tripe about fellow Muggleborn witch Hermione Granger. Sloane was aware that the Gryffindor girl was like her; brilliant, educated and from a similar background.

_Of course the only difference is she's best friends with Harry Potter, ensuring her spotlight other than her intelligence_, she concluded. Unlike what Kyra wanted, she felt no jealousy towards Hermione Granger; it was petty to waste her time hating someone for being better than her. Sloane brushed back some of her copper brown hair, trying to swallow down the fact she allowed herself to enter the stupid contest _Witch Weekly_ was running. Kyra would get a laugh if she found out about Sloane's entry.

"Do you think you'll win, Kyra?" Sloane randomly asked. "The Win A Date contest, I mean. Granted, you have a slim chance of truly winning but..."

Kyra hesitated, surprised her friend was interested in the contest all of a sudden. "Oh well, I hope so. I chose Cedric as my number one and then Krum and lastly, well, Potter. Not that I wouldn't mind spending a date with him but..." she tapped her finger on her lip. "I'd much prefer Cedric."

Sloane nodded, more or less understanding the reasoning behind her friend's choices for possible dates. _I'd better not mention my entry until after this contest has ended_, she thought. _Kyra will find it funny and tease me a bit but less than what she would do if she found out now._

Before Sloane could say anything else, Kyra's attention was diverted by Justin Finch-Fletchly and Susan Bones. The teenagers were walking in their direction down the corridor, Kyra waving her hand excitedly to see her fellow Hufflepuffs as she gave Sloane a quick, friendly hug. "Thanks for helping me, Sloane! Don't forget, this Saturday night at seven! Tap to the tune of Helga Hufflepuff!" and she disappeared down the hallway, leaving behind Sloane and her thoughts.

* * *

Tuesday melted into Wednesday and turned to Thursday and finally it was Friday; the day of History of Magic, Charms and her course of double Potions. Potions was a little less exciting for Sloane due to it being more applicable magic than say, Ancient Runes. She could recite the directions but when it came to actually making the potion, she faltered a little. She generally made A's and E's in the class and in her second year had scored an O for her last exam. That was her crowning moment if you asked her.

As the first hour of double Potions began, Sloane sat down in her little desk with her usual partner Padma Patil. She was also very bright; hard to imagine her sister Parvati was a gossipy Divination-obsessed Gryffindor. She wasn't quite friends with Padma but occasionally the two did talk about plain, safe subjects like the weather or how their classes were.

"My sister entered that contest," Padma told Sloane as the two girls were given the assignment to make Murtlap Essence, a solution used to heal small cuts and abrasions. It was by far the most difficult potion Sloane had encountered. She blinked, realizing Padma was waiting for her to reply.

"Well, it's safe to say she's not picking Harry." Sloane recalled how the Patil twins were the dates of Harry and his friend Ron Weasley at the Yule Ball. Unfortunately, the two boys proved to be terrible ball dates and they left them to go dance with others. Word spread quickly in Ravenclaw house of Padma's discontent with the Weasley teen.

Padma weakly smirked. "I'd hope not."

Nothing more was exchanged as the two Ravenclaws sliced up the tentacles of the Murtlap, which was quite nasty even though it was dead. Plopping the strained tentacles into the mixture, Padma and Sloane hoped for the best as a pungent odor was released from the cauldron, nearly knocking Padma off her feet from the horrid smell.

"Oh no we did it wrong, didn't we?" Sloane slid her hand down her face, pretending to ignore the fact her hand had just touched tentacles.

"Not even two Ravenclaws could produce a proper Murtlap Essence," came the long disappointed drawl of their Potions Professor, the man draped in black hovering above their cauldron. "Five points from Ravenclaw."

Padma groaned along with the rest of the Ravenclaws in their class, Sloane feeling particularly embarrassed despite her usually calm self. Snape was only nicer towards the Slytherins and cut them more slack than the other three houses. It was unfair but he was allowed to do it. Feeling defeated, Sloane stared back at the cauldron, no longer smelling like dung due to the professor's involvement. Some of the Slytherin girls sniggered at their fortune, making it even more annoying.

Moments later, Professor Snape grudgingly awarded Hermione Granger and Harry Potter's Murtlap Essence with five points, a rare event indeed. With a heavy sigh, Sloane puffed her bangs away from her face, adjusting her vertical frames once again as they waited for class to end.

* * *

The next morning, Sloane awoke, licking her lips to get rid of the dry crackled taste in her mouth. Changing into casual Muggle clothes, Sloane put her hair in a low ponytail as she headed down to breakfast. She was hungry, still a little tired from not getting much sleep and stressed out about end of the year exams. It was already late March and before she knew it June would be right around the corner and she'd be back at home with her father and stepmother.

"Morning, Sloanie!" Michael Corner greeted Sloane with his dark eyes, standing with his mates Terry Boot and Anthony Goldstein. Sloane coolly glanced at all three boys, wanting to get out of their way so she could eat some breakfast. Managing to descend all the staircases back down to the Great Hall, her stomach turned with hunger as she went to the Ravenclaw table to sit down and eat.

The owl post was flying above everyone's heads, owls of all colors, sizes and shapes as Sloane munched on some raisin bran cereal with a sliced piece of toast. She remembered about her promise to Kyra; study session for a party. Taking another spoonful of cereal to her mouth, the blue eyed girl contemplated about the Hufflepuff party tonight and the instructions Kyra gave her to get into the common room. She spread butter on her toast, taking a hearty bite out of the whole wheat bread.

"Hoot!" Domingo had returned, Sloane already curious to see what she got. She never communicated to her father and stepmother by owl due to them being Muggles so it couldn't be a letter from them.

_I probably just got someone else's mail again_, she told herself, and it was a strong possibility because it had happened before a couple of times. Giving Domingo a treat, Sloane observed the plain white envelope, seeing her name fancily written on one side.

_Miss Sloane Anneliese van Houten_

No one knew her middle name. Scrunching her nose up in confusion and intrigue, Sloane ripped the top of the envelope and what happened next would shock her. As she tore the very edge of the envelope off, fireworks and sparklers erupted from the letter, the usually imperturbable Sloane Van Houten terrified from the sudden color and noise display. This attracted many of her fellow peers, Sloane slumping over to try and hide her letter.

"Whatcha got there, Sloane?" Terry Boot poked his nose into her business. "No one's letter goes off like that for no reason!"

She could not come up with a logical answer swift enough as the fireworks finally died down as Sloane clutched the letter to her chest, as if she were trying to hide it in her sweater. Eventually people's interest died down as she carefully flipped open the extravagant letter. Her throat went sour.

_Congratulations Miss van Houten,_

_You are one of the four lucky winners of the ''**WIN A DATE WITH A TRIWIZARD CHAMPION'** contest hosted by WITCH WEEKLY. You have been chosen to spend a day with_

**_Harry Potter_**

_Expect another owl as soon as possible to bring you further details such as possible date destinations, guidelines and rules, what to wear and so on. Once more, congratulations on your winning entry and best of wishes to your future date!_

_Signed,_

_Malis Misslethorpe, Editor-in-Chief of Witch Weekly_

Sloane van Houten's jaw dropped and sometime later that day, so would Harry Potter's.

* * *

Next chapter it's Harry's turn to shine. I can't wait when the story really gets rollin', oh boy!


	4. Chapter Four

JKR wrote Harry Potter. I didn't.

Sorry about the wait, and sorry for the short-ish chapter. Oh boy, thanks for all the reviews and alerts :) As for the reviewer that alerted me about Sloane's last name, I've gone back and edited it to 'van Houten' and will be doing so in the future. Thanks for the obscure but useful critique!

* * *

**Chapter Four**

Harry Potter did not want to go through with _Witch Weekly_'s competition. Not now, not ever. However, he had no choice but to swallow his pride as he fingered the folds of the envelope which held the winning entry of the girl who won a date with him. He had received the letter at breakfast this morning

"Harry, who is she?" Ron asked his best friend. "It's not Pansy, is it?" he stuck out his tongue, feeling disgusted at the very thought. Of course no Slytherin girl actually _liked_ Harry, so perhaps he was safe in that regard.

The black haired teen looked down at the slip of parchment in his hands that detailed the information of the contest winner. Harry never wanted to be part of this stupid sweepstakes, some annoying publicity stunt set up by _Witch Weekly_. He slumped his shoulders as his eyes glanced at the fanciful name written in black ink before shooting a glance at Ron.

"Ah, Sloane. Sloane something or other," Harry responded absently as he placed the parchment on his nightstand, taking off his glasses as he wiped the lenses with the cuff of his sleeve. He was tired from classes, tired of being written about in celebrity tabloids, tired from the Triwizard Tournament and just tired all around. He needed a break.

Neville curiously poked his head over to Harry's nightstand, wanting to read the name of the lucky girl who won the contest. "Sloane van Houten. I think she's in Ravenclaw..." he muttered loud enough that Dean and Seamus heard.

Dean nodded, the tall black boy sitting criss-cross style on his bed as he held up his index finger, recognizing the name. "Yeah, she's in Ravenclaw. Kinda shy from what I heard. She hangs around Kyra Bennett."

Harry's eyes widened a little before they returned to the half-lidded expression he wore before. "Ravenclaw?" Automatically, he thought of Cho. Maybe Sloane knew Cho well enough that he could...no, that would be mean. He liked Cho, but he would not befriend someone just to manipulate them. That was a Malfoy thing to do.

Dean raised both his brows, a lopsided smile forming on his face. "Yeah. Extremely smart girl, supposedly third in our year."

"Third? Oh," Harry remembered Hermione had top marks, making her like the valedictorian of their class. Harry half-grinned, wondering if there was a wizarding equivalent to a Muggle valedictorian. "Well, most Ravenclaws are smart anyway," he added.

"Well if it's some bookworm Ravenclaw, that's not too bad I guess. I mean, at least she doesn't sound like a giddy fan girl," Ron tried to cheer Harry up, which in retrospect probably wasn't the best comparison to use.

Harry grimaced. His thoughts went to fellow Gryffindor girl Lavender Brown. She was nice enough, but from what Seamus told him from dancing with the blonde at the Yule Ball, he wouldn't dare ask her out again. She was sweet but clingy, floaty and far too bubbly for his likes. She even tried to snog Seamus. Gross. Harry sucked in some breath as he banished that mental image from his mind, folding his hands on his lap as he rested his back on the backboard of the bed.

"I'm guin t'bed," Seamus' accent was always thicker when he was sleepy as the Irish lad yawned loudly and buried himself under the comforter, Dean following suit as he wished his suite mates a good night.

"Night Dean," Harry said, his mind still elsewhere. According to the letter he got, he was supposed to meet this girl within the next week as to "introduce himself". He let out a soft 'psh' at this. However, if what Dean said was right, and that Sloane van Houten was quiet and unassuming, then the worst that could go wrong was a boring get together. Or at least, he really hoped so. This may as well be another Triwizard Task, except this time he wouldn't be scored.

* * *

"Sloane!" Kyra dragged out every vowel in Sloane's name as the cheerful black girl wrapped her arm around Sloane's waist and brought her into a friendly cuddle. The party in the Hufflepuff common room was still going on even at nine o'clock pm, much to Sloane's surprise. So far it had been pretty successful as parties go; the food kept coming and the music was playing a tad too loud for her tastes. "Why didn't you tell me you won the contest? Here I thought you weren't interested in boys~"

Sloane struggled to escape from Kyra's death hug as the blue eyed bookworm finally broke free. "I didn't think I'd actually _win_," she stressed.

Kyra laughed, resting her hand on Sloane's shoulder. "Well duh, if you enter a contest you have the chance of losing or winning. Eee, Sloane, you're going on a date with the Boy Who Lived! But!" she broke her squealing and gave Sloane a serious, out of character glare. "You might want to keep it on the dee-ell around some of us Hufflepuffs. Some of them still don't like Harry for taking away Cedric's glory."

_It's silly to hold a grudge against him_, Sloane inwardly thought as she gave her friend a forced close-lipped smile._ I really doubt he put his name in the cup, what with the age restrictions. It's still very curious though_. "I can't keep it a secret if the winner's names are posted on every single bloody board in this castle."

The brown eyed tall girl blinked a few times before she giggled again. "Right. Well come on Sloane, there's plenty of Pumpkin Pasties left on the table!" she grabbed her friend's hand as Sloane was tugged along to the table with the concessions. Across the table was Hannah Abbott, who perked up at the sight of Kyra and then saw Sloane.

"Oh, hi Kyra, Sloane," Hannah remembered their names as the girl with the blonde pigtails munched on a Pumpkin Pasty. "C-congratulations on winning, Sloane."

Sloane shrugged, peering at the cute Hufflepuff girl as she pushed back some of her own hair behind her ears. "I wasn't really planning on winning but..."

Kyra elbowed Sloane. "And all this time she was getting on my case about reading _Witch Weekly_!" she playfully stuck her tongue out. "Oh, I'm thinking a full makeover the night before her big d-a-t-e!"

The copper haired girl did not like the sound of a makeover, not in the slightest. Wasn't the whole point of any sort of date to just be yourself without mussing up the hair or layering ten pounds of makeup? Not that Sloane would know personally having never been asked out.

Hannah smiled and nodded, the gentle girl pouring herself some punch as she continued to chat with Kyra and Sloane. "Um, Susan could braid your hair, Sloane. She's good with...um, hair stuff."

"Well, I'd like to stay and chat but I really ought to head back to the tower," Sloane tried to make a smooth exit as Kyra groaned and latched onto her shoulders. "Er, thanks for inviting me Kyra, but I need to go."

The Hufflepuff girl pouted, giving her friend one last hug as she led Sloane out of the Hufflepuff common room and back outside, near the Hogwarts kitchens. "Thanks for coming to the party, Sloane. See, when you get out of your room, you have fun! Night Sloane!"

_I guess it wasn't so bad_, Sloane admitted as she waved her friend goodnight and began the long journey back to Ravenclaw Tower. That was the worst thing about leaving the cozy warmth of the basement and kitchen area; walking back to the airy heights of her own house. She looked over her shoulder, getting further and further away from the barrels that hid the Hufflepuff house as she shoved her hands inside her hooded jacket and hoped that no teacher was prowling the halls tonight.

Sloane was still whirling from her winning entry for the Win a Date contest, a feeling she wasn't sure whether it felt good or not. Sloane had never won anything in her life and grades didn't count considering she earned them through hard work and endless studying. She wouldn't even be graded on her date with Harry Potter, no school related achievements would come as a result. It was strange to her.

She was bound to meet him sooner or later, and it was going to be rather awkward on both ends.

* * *

I know it's a crappy short chapter, but I'm trying to break through this weird block for this story so hopefully the next chapter Harry and Sloane will FINALLY meet and it will be hilariously awkward. Let me know your thoughts, okay?


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